


Unexpected Guest

by TouchingOldMagic



Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [24]
Category: Ghostbusters (Comics), Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Chicago Ghostbusters, Fix-It, Gay Jillian Holtzmann, Jillian Holtzmann being Jillian Holtzmann, M/M, Missing Scene, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Ron Alexander is a walking dumpster fire, The power of friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25029832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TouchingOldMagic/pseuds/TouchingOldMagic
Summary: Day 24 of the Ghostbusters 30 Day ChallengePrompt: Jillian Holtzmann Being WeirdHoltzmann shows up in Chicago, post-Crossing Over storyline, to have a final verbal showdown with Ron Alexander.
Relationships: Ron Alexander (Ghostbusters)/Bryan "Rookie" Welsh
Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779643
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	Unexpected Guest

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the Crossing Over storyline in the comics. Warnings for Ron's use of language, as usual. Mentions Ron x Bryan.

"What are _you_ doing here!?" Bryan Welsh blurted out, then immediately looked contrite. "Er, I'm sorry! I didn't mean--"

Jillian didn't seem to take offense. "Hello, Windy City!" she said by way of introduction. Bryan was standing behind the front desk at the Chicago Ghostbusters HQ. She reached across the desk and shook his hand. "Jillian Holtzmann. I think we met briefly while keeping the multiverse from collapsing. Please, don't trouble yourself remembering who put that little ball in motion. Ha."

Bryan still looked a little dazed and turned to their administrative manager, Kim, for help. She was seated at the desk, studiously typing up a report on their last case and staying out of the entire conversation.

Bryan hated when he had to awkwardly look for words. "Yes, ah, Dr. Holtzmann, I remember you. I--we didn't expect--aren't you from another dimension?"

Kim raised her eyebrows almost to her hairline but did not look up from her keyboard.

"I'm here for a visit. It's scientific. Perfectly legal. Mostly. Besides, I have a chaperone." The blond physicist hooked an arm around the smaller woman who had entered the building with her.

"I'm not a chaperone," Kylie grumbled. "I was coming here anyway and she tagged along. There's an estate sale this afternoon downtown, some guy who was a big name in occult studies. I'm here to see if I can pick up some books for the boss."

"Oh, the Pickering Estate?" Bryan asked. "I think Dani was going to go, too. Maybe you two could go together."

Kylie looked surprised. "I didn't know Dani was interested in the research aspect of the biz."

Bryan shrugged. "Well she said we didn't have anyone to do it and we should, and she seems to be taking it pretty seriously so far. Our spare room has two bookshelves full now."

"Oh yeah? Anything good?" To say books were one of Kylie's interests was a bit of an understatement.

Bryan shrugged, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I guess? I dunno, really, but she'll be back from lunch soon and you could ask her."

While the two were talking, Jillian took one careful step backward, then another. Then, seeing as no one had any reaction, she turned and hurried down the hall that led past the front reception area and deeper into the building.

The short hall had three other doors and a stairwell. "Women's intuition is telling meeeeee... this one." Jillian pointed at the first door on the left and pushed it open without knocking.

Inside the small office space was a desktop covered in broken pencils, paperwork, schematics, tools, loose screws, and bits of oily spare parts leaving stains on the desk blotter. Behind the desk was Ron Alexander, feet propped up on a desk drawer that jutted open and hat pulled down low over his face to cover his eyes.

"Boo-yah," Jillian said with satisfaction.

Ron looked up. "Oh fuck, _you_ ," he sighed in recognition.

"I decline," Jillian returned immediately, making Ron look confused for a moment, but she continued before he could get a word in. "Thought I'd stop by and say hi. Nice city. So how're you doing, Ronny?"

"Call me that again and I'll kick your ass."

"Great. Listen, Ronny," Jillian plowed on without pausing for breath. "You remember anything about the thing in New York? I mean, obviously you do. We both do. But the details? The notes we scribbled all over the walls of your friend's place during the planning stages? Remember any of that? Anything specific?"

Ron put his feet down and sat up, as it seemed getting the talkative blond out of his office wasn't going to be as easy as just ignoring her. "Nope."

"Me either." Jillian tipped her head and narrowed her eyes at the wall over Ron's head. He didn't have anything hanging there, so he assumed she was thinking about something. Though with her it was hard to tell. "It's possible rapid and multiple crossing of dimensions might impair localization of long-term memory or something," she admitted.

"Or something," Ron muttered, a lot more suspicious than the physicist, and therefore a lot quicker to jump to conclusions. "I have a feeling those losers in New York had something to do with it."

"Those are my friends," Jillian pointed out in a careful tone (which was interesting to hear, as she hardly ever sounded careful in her life).

"I was talking about the ones with dicks," Ron said.

Jillian considered that for a moment. "Those ones are also my friends," she decided.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Look, I don't remember shit and the notes are gone, so that's it. I don't even care, it was more trouble than it's worth. I'm not jumping through hoops again the next time the universes decide to collapse. Or spending another week in the hospital." His hand reflexively went to his chest and then he quickly put his hand down at his side again. "So if that's it feel free to leave, and don't let the door smack you on the ass on your way out."

"Wasn't here for that," Jillian insisted. "Just curious. My plane's not leaving 'til tonight. We've got time. We could get lunch." Jillian warmed up to this idea and her speech sped up. "In fact, we should all go. That lady at the front desk looked like she could use a breadstick. Possibly two."

The idea of spending several more hours with Jillian Holtzmann, when she wasn't distracted by complex equations and jury-rigged machinery, was a terrifying one. "And why would we do that?"

The physicist looked honestly perplexed. Her team ate lunch together all the time, she honestly couldn't picture it any other way. "Uh? Team building? Group bonding? Sharing unlimited soup and salads at Olive Garden? We could make it a lunch date. You're dating the jittery one out front with the little upturned nose, right?"

Ron sucked in a breath so quick it triggered a coughing fit. " _WHAT?_ " he gasped out as he fought for air.

"He's cute, I mean, I assume." Jillian shrugged. "What, is workplace fun not allowed? No worries, your secret's safe with me. Unless you have something I want, then I'm going to blackmail you. Ha."

Ron stood up and pointed a finger at her. "Listen here you little b--"

"Anyway! This is for you." Jillian all but bounced forward, leaned across his desk, and dropped something onto Ron's outstretched index finger, still pointing in her direction. Ron froze and stared at it. Gingerly, he lifted it off his finger and turned it around.

It was a baseball cap. Dark blue in color, and on the front, embroidered in white, was the letter U with a nail going through it.

Ron looked at the hat, then raised his eyes to look at the pendant hanging from Jillian's neck, then lifted them up to her face. "What," he said succinctly, "the fuck?"

Jillian leaned against the front of Ron's desk with one hip, folding her arms across her chest. "Remember when you said we were friends and I declined?"

Following conversations with Jillian Holtzmann was like programming code. It gave him a headache. "No. I think I said we hit it off and you said 'eh.'"

"Right, look, Ronny, I've been thinking." She ignored his growl. "What I said before, about how I didn't really click with anyone until Abby and Erin and Patty and Kevin? I've been thinking that searching through an infinite number of dimensions for people who think like me was a bad idea. Not that it's not cool to meet alternate me's. Especially hot secret agent alternate me's." Ron's lip curled in disgust. "Anyway," she continued, "I think maybe instead of being so focused on finding people like me, I'm gonna work harder to be friends with people who are different. And we did make a pretty good team."

Ron snorted. "Dunno about that," he said, but he leaned over and placed the cap in the desk drawer that he'd been using to prop up his feet before she came in, and slid the drawer closed.

Then he straightened and leveled her with a look. "We're not going to the damn Olive Garden. I have standards. And I'm not paying for your lunch."

Jillian gave a hiss of triumph and launched herself toward the door, eager to start in on convincing the cute secretary to come to lunch with them. "Wouldn't dream of it, Ronny. I can't wait to inflict chaos on your economic structure by slipping some alternate dimension currency into the system. Mwa ha ha. You have President Downey Jr. on your twenty dollar bills, right? Kidding! Or am I?"

"Holtzmann," Ron said.

She stopped short of the door, leaned back on her heels and pivoted around to face him. "Hmm?"

"How did you know? About...?" He tilted his head toward the door, indicating the front of the building.

Jillian smirked. "Didn't. Guessed. Your freak out was telling. Also you have a little doodle of a ghost on the corner of your desk and you don't seem like the doodling type."

Ron looked down at his desk and cursed and Jillian slipped out into the hall to wrangle up the Chicago Ghostbusters for lunch.

**Author's Note:**

> It's my sleepover and I get to choose who gets a redemption arc by eventually learning how to be slightly less of a scumbag. :P
> 
> No but seriously the full Ron x Bryan story is coming at a later date. If anyone cares about these crazy boys and their crack ship but me.


End file.
